Hey there, I am planning on backpacking for 6 months indefinately in South Africa. Whats the deal with sleep sacks. This is my first time backpacking. I Have looked around in stores and They're so expensive. I found some for around 80$ canadian. Any thoughts or tips?

It's a little unclear whether you are referring to sleeping bags or liners or perhaps both. Yes, quality is expensive. If you are really backpacking, i.e. carrying your home on your back with tent, etc, while hiking/sleeping outdoors, then good quality sleeping bags are both lightweight, easily packable in smaller sizes and will keep you warm down to their rated temp. And a big, fluffy, heavy and cheap sleeping bag is fine for car camping, but not real backpacking.

Now, as for liners for use in questionable beds in hostels and the like.... a sheet folded in half and partially sown around the edge works fine, but is fairly bulky and heavy to carry around if your gear is really on your back. Here the high end material like silk is great, but very pricey. It might also be noted that in hot, humid climates the cotton sheet can feel somewhat clammy.

Either way, with these products the old saw about getting what you paid for does tend to bear out. But the sticker shock can be a nasty surprise.

I agree with greybeard. A good quality bag may be expensive but if you're going backpacking for 6 months then an outlay of $80 isn't that much. A good bag will be warm, lightweight and some of them are about the size of a football when compressed. Shop around and keep an eye out for pre-Xmas sales, end of product sales, mid-season sales etc. As for liners, silk ones are the way to go. Same thing - expensive but small, lightweight and breathable.

Have a great trip. You're so lucky to be able to travel for six months.